Hypoallergenic earrings

ABSTRACT

A hypoallergenic earring for a pierced human body part such as an ear may have an ear piece of a non-allergenic material removably directly connectable to a pierced ear and engageable with skin of the ear and a separate ornamental piece removably connectable by a fastener to the ear piece. The ear and ornamental pieces may be configured so that when the ear piece is connected to the ear, the ornamental piece normally does not engage the skin of the wearer of the earring.

REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/361,107, filed Jul. 12, 2016, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to earrings and moreparticularly to hypoallergenic pierced earrings typically, but notnecessarily, worn in a pierced earlobe of a human being.

BACKGROUND

Many earrings and particularly relatively inexpensive earrings are madeof a metal alloy with nickel and when worn for a period of time on apierced body part, such as an earlobe, cause an allergic reaction in asignificant number of human beings. Persons with a nickel allergyusually begin to develop a skin reaction within 6 to 48 hours aftercoming into contact with an earring containing nickel or a nickel alloy.Typical symptoms of a nickel allergy may include a skin rash or bumps,redness or other changes in skin color, dry patches on the skin thatresemble a burn, itching, and blisters. In relatively rare cases anickel allergy can also lead to respiratory problems including a runnynose, nasal inflammation, asthma, and sneezing. Most low cost earringscurrently available in the market include nickel or other metals thatcause irritation of the skin of those with a metal allergy. Commerciallyavailable hypoallergenic earrings that do not irritate the skin of humanbeings are made in one piece of precious metals principally argentiumsterling silver, fine silver, silver, 14 karat and above yellow gold,gold, platinum and palladium which do not contain any nickel alloy.These one piece earrings are quite expensive and have a limited varietyof ornamental designs or appearances.

SUMMARY

In at least some implementations, a hypoallergenic earring for a piercedear may have an ornamental piece removably connected by a fastener to anear piece of a non-allergenic material and removably connectable to apierced ear. A variety of different ornamental pieces may be removablyconnected one at a time to the same ear piece to provide a variety ofearrings with a different ornamental appearance.

In at least some implementations, the ear piece may be in the form of astud, a hook or an ear wire for removable attachment to a pierced ear.In some implementations, the fastener may be in the form of acomplimentarily threaded stud and a portion of the ornamental piece or ahook and eye assembly releasably connecting the ornamental piece to theear piece. The hook may have a releasable latch to releasably retain thehook in engagement with the eye at least while the earring is beingworn.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of certain embodiments and best modeof earrings which will not cause a metal allergy in allergenic personswill be set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective side view of a stud form of anon-allergenic earring embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of the earring of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view from one side of a hook form of an earringembodying this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view from another side of the earring of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an ornamental ball of the earring ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view from one side of a lever back form of anearring embodying this invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view from another side of the lever back earringof FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ornamental ball of the earring ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an exploded side view of another stud form of a non-allergenicearring embodying this invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective back view of the ornamental piece of theearring of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective front view of the earring of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a stud form of a non-allergenic earring 10having a stopper 12 removably receivable on a post 14 and a separateornamental piece shown in the form of a ball 16 removably attachable tothe post. The post may have an elongate pin 18 with a head 20 and athreaded shank or stud 22 adjacent one end. To removably attach theornamental ball 16 to the post it has a threaded blind hole 24engageable with the complementarily threaded shank 22 of the post 14.The pin 18 may be an elongate solid cylindrical rod with a rounded tipadjacent its free end and is preferably coaxial with the threaded shank22 and the head 20 which may be generally cylindrical with generallyplanar opposed end faces extending transversely to the pin. The pin 18may have a small enough diameter that in use it may be readily insertedthrough a pierced opening of an ear or the like. If desired the pin 18,head 20, and threaded shank 22 may be made in one homogeneously integralpiece.

The stopper or ear back 12 may be a strip of resilient flexible materialwith curled ends and a central hole of sufficient diameter so that thepin can be slidably received through the hole and between the curledends to releasably frictionally retain the stopper on the pin 18 of thepost 14.

In accordance with this invention the stopper 12 and post 14, includingthe pin 18 and the head 20 are made of a non-allergenic plastic materialor desirably a metal which does not have more than 0.05% of nickeltherein on a weight or mass basis and a release or migration rate of thenickel when in contact with a pierced ear or other human body part ofnot more than 0.2 μg/cm²/week as measured by the European Union EN1811:2011 Test

Method and the REACH Regulation, specifically item 27 of Annex XVII tothat regulation. Typically the metal of the stopper and post may be asurgical grade stainless steel, a noble metal, or typically gold,silver, platinum, palladium, titanium and alloys thereof, whichessentially do not have any nickel and, in any event, have a nickel orother allergen metal migration or release rate when in contact with theskin of a pierced human body part of not more than 0.2 μg/cm²/week. Thehead 20 of the post prevents the ornamental ball 16 from coming into anyprolonged contact with the wearer's skin when the earring is received ina pierced earlobe or other human body part disposed between the head andthe stopper 12. Therefore, the ornamental ball 16 may be made ofrelatively inexpensive materials including, without limitation, variousmetals which contain more than 0.05% nickel by weight and have a greatermigration or release rate of the nickel than that noted above and thuscould cause an allergic reaction in some humans.

With this construction the ornamental ball 16 may be disconnected andremoved from the post 14 and a different ornamental piece having acomplementarily threaded blind hole connected and secured to thethreaded shank 22. With this construction and arrangement a wearer oruser of the earring 10 may have a large variety of different ornamentalpieces, each of which can be releasably connected to, and removed from,the post 14. This provides a desirable wide variety of earrings having adifferent ornamental appearance by simply changing the ornamental piece16 and using each ornamental piece with the same post 14 which greatlyreduces the cost and makes more affordable non-allergenic earrings.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate a hook form of a non-allergenic earring 30 having ahook 32 and carrying a removable ornamental piece 34. The hook may havea generally u-shape with a first leg 36 having a generallysemi-spherical tip 38 at its free end to facilitate insertion of thehook into a pierced opening of a wearer's earlobe or other human bodypart, a central bite 40 and a desirably longer second leg 42 having aneye 44 adjacent its distal end for receiving any one of a variety ofornamental pieces 34. Optionally, the hook 32 may also have a tab 46adjacent the eye on which a pad of a non-allergenic material is receivedto ensure that the ornamental piece 34 does not substantiallycontinuously contact the skin of the wearer of the earring. The pad maybe made of a surgical grade silicone, Teflon, acrylic, vinyl, PTFE,nylon or other surgical plastic materials.

The ornamental piece 34 is removably connected to the hook 32 by afastener 50. The fastener may have a hook 52 pivotally connected to atang 54 attached to the ornamental piece 34 and with the tang and hookhaving generally L-shaped complementary catches 56 and 58 whichreleasably interlock. The hook may be made of a resilient and flexiblematerial so that the catch 56 cams or slides over the catch 58 and snapsinto underlying engagement with it. The ornamental piece 34 and thefastener 50 may be made of any suitable material which need not benon-allergenic. The hook 32 is made of a non-allergenic plastic or metalsuch as the noble metals and plastic materials noted above.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate a lever back form of an earring 60 with anornamental piece 62 removably connectable to an ear wire 64 by afastener 66. The ear wire 64 has an open loop 68 with a gap or opening70 releasably covered or closed by a lever 72 pivotally connectedadjacent one end to the open loop 68 and having a closed positionextending over the gap 70 and overlying a free end portion 73 of theloop. The ear wire 64 may have an eye 74 which can releasably receivethe fastener 66 which has a hook 76 pivotally connected to a tang 78attached to the ornamental piece 62. The hook 76 and tang 78 havegenerally L-shaped complementary catches 80 and 82 which releasablyinterlock. The hook 76 may be made of a resilient and flexible materialso that the catch 80 cams or slides over the catch 82 and snaps intounderlying engagement with it. The hook 76 is movable between open andclosed positions and when open can be inserted into and removed from theeye 74 and when closed, can retain the ornamental piece 62 on the earwire 64. The ornamental piece 62 and the fastener 66 may be made of anysuitable material which need not be non-allergenic. The ear wire 64 ismade of a non-allergenic material.

FIGS. 9-11 illustrate another stud form of a non-allergenic earring 90having a stopper 12′ removably receivable on a post 92 and a separateornamental piece shown in the form of an ornamental ring 94 removablyattachable to the post. The post 92 may have an elongate pin 95 with ahead 96 and a threaded shank or stud 98 which may be fixed to the pin 95adjacent one end. To removably attach the ornamental ring 94 to thepost, it has a threaded collar 100 fixed to the ornamental ring 94 andengageable with the complementarily threaded stud 98 of the post 92. Thepin 95 may be an elongate solid cylindrical rod 102 with a rounded tip104 adjacent its free end and is preferably coaxial with the threadedstud 98 and the head 96 which may be generally cylindrical with agenerally planar or convex inner end face 105 extending transversely tothe pin. The pin 95 may have a small enough diameter that in use it maybe readily inserted through a pierced opening of an ear or the like. Ifdesired, the pin 95, head 96 and threaded stud 98 may be made in onehomogeneously integral piece.

The stopper or ear back 12′ may be a strip of resilient flexiblematerial with curled ends 108 and a central hole of sufficient diameterso that the pin 95 can be slidably received through the hole and betweenthe curled ends to releasably frictionally retain the stopper on the pin95 of the post 92. To facilitate retention of the ear back 12′ on thepost, the pin 95 may have one or more grooves 106 in which the curledend portions 108 of the ear back 12′ may be received.

In accordance with this invention, the stopper 12′ and post 92 includingthe pin 95 and the head 96 are made of a non-allergenic plastic materialor desirably a non-allergenic metal which does not have more than 0.05%of nickel therein on a weight or mass basis and a release or migrationrate of the nickel when in contact with a pierced ear or other humanbody part of not more than 0.2 μg/cm²week as measured by the EuropeanUnion EN 1811:2011 Test Method and the REACH Regulation, specificallyitem 27 of Annex XVII to that regulation. Suitable non-allergenicplastic materials and metals are noted above and will not be repeatedhere. The head 96 of the post 92 may be configured to prevent theornamental ring 94 from coming into any prolonged contact with thewearer's skin when the earring 90 is received in a pierced earlobe orother human body part disposed between the head 96 and the stopper 12′.Therefore, the ornamental ring 94 may be made of relatively inexpensivematerials including, without limitation, various metals which containmore than 0.05% nickel by weight and have a greater migration or releaserate of the nickel than that noted above and thus could cause anallergic reaction in some humans. If desired, the ornamental ring 94 maybe set with real or imitation gems, stones, pearls, or the like 110, 112in an ornate metal ring 114 to provide an ornamental appearance.

In all forms of the earring the ear piece (post 14 and stop 12, hook 32,ear wire 64, post 92 and stop 12′) or other ear attachment piece whichcomes into contact with a wearer's skin, is made of a non-allergenicmaterial such as a surgical plastic material, noble metal, titanium orsurgical stainless steel, and the removably connected ornamental piece16, 34, 62, 94 which normally does not come into contact with a wearer'sskin may be made of allergenic materials which may be relativelyinexpensive. This construction and arrangement provides relativelyinexpensive earrings since the same non-allergic ear piece may be usedand worn with a wide variety of different ornamental pieces which may bemade of allergenic material for use with a single non-allergenic earpiece having a migration rate of nickel or other allergenic constituentof not more than 0.2 μg/cm²/week to thereby avoid an allergic skinreaction from contact therewith. For many metal allergies, once awearer's skin becomes sensitized to nickel or other metal allergens, theuser's skin is sensitized for a lifetime. Thus, once a user's skinbecomes sensitized, such a user must be very careful to avoid anyfurther contact with a metal allergen.

1. A hypoallergenic earring for a pierced ear comprising: a removableear piece of a non-allergenic material configured to be removablydirectly connected to a pierced ear with at least a portion of the earpiece engageable with the skin of the pierced ear; an allergenicornamental piece separate from and connectable to the ear piece; and afastener releasably connecting the ornamental piece to the ear piece. 2.The earring of claim 1, wherein the fastener and the ornamental pieceare configured so that when they are carried by the removable ear piecewhen the ear piece is connected to the ear the ornamental piece does notengage the skin of the ear when the head of the wearer is in a normalupright position.
 3. The earring of claim 1, wherein the ear piece ismade of a noble metal which, if it has any allergenic materialmigration, does not migrate at a rate greater than 0.2 μg/cm²/week asdetermined by the test method EN 1811:2011 of the European Union and theREACH Regulation, specifically item 27 of Annex XVII to that regulation.4. The earring of claim 1, wherein the non-allergenic material comprisessurgical stainless steel having a nickel migration rate not greater than0.2 μg/cm²/week as determined by the test method EN 1811:2011 of theEuropean Union.
 5. The earring of claim 1, wherein the ornamental piececomprises a metal with a nickel constituent.
 6. The earring of claim 1,wherein the removable ear piece comprises a pad of a non-allergenicmaterial carried by the removable ear piece and configured to inhibitthe allergenic ornamental piece from contact with the skin of the wearerwhen the wearer's head is in a normal upright position.
 7. The earringof claim 1, wherein the ear piece comprises a hook of a non-allergenicmaterial configured to be received in a pierced opening through the earof the wearer of the earring.
 8. The earring of claim 1, wherein theremovable ear piece comprises an elongate pin of a non-allergenicmaterial configured to be received in a pierced opening through the earof the wearer of the earring.
 9. The earring of claim 1, wherein theremovable ear piece comprises a loop of a non-allergenic material withan opening and a lever movable to opened and closed positions and whenin the closed position overlies the opening in the loop, to retain theloop in a pierced opening of an ear of the wearer of the earring. 10.The earring of claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises complementarythreaded portions of the removable ear piece and the ornamental piece.11. The earring of claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises a releasablehook carried by one of the ornamental piece and the removable ear pieceand a complementary eye engageable by the hook and carried by the otherof the removable ear piece and the ornamental piece.
 12. The earring ofclaim 1, wherein the fastener comprises an eye carried by one of theremovable ear piece and the ornamental piece and a hook carried by theother of the removable ear piece and the ornamental piece and the hookis movable between an open position permitting insertion into andremoval from the eye and a closed position releasably retained in theeye.
 13. The earring of claim 1, wherein the non-allergenic material ofthe removable ear piece comprises at least one of, a noble metal,titanium, silicone, acrylic, PTFE, or surgical stainless steel. 14.Jewelry for a pierced part of a body of a human wearer comprising: aremovable body piece of a non-allergenic material constructed to bereceived in a pierced opening in a part of a body of a human wearer; aseparate allergenic ornamental piece configured to be removably carriedby the body piece without substantial contact with the skin of the humanwearer; and a fastener releasably attaching the separate ornamentalpiece to the body piece.
 15. The earring of claim 14, wherein thefastener and the ornamental piece are configured so that when they arecarried by the removable body piece when the body piece is connected tothe body the ornamental piece does not engage the skin of the body whenthe body of the wearer is in a normal upright position.
 16. The earringof claim 14, wherein the body piece is made of a noble metal which, ifit has any allergenic material migration, does not migrate at a rategreater than 0.2 μg/cm²/week as determined by the test method EN1811:2011 of the European Union and the REACH Regulation, specificallyitem 27 of Annex XVII to that regulation.
 17. The earring of claim 14,wherein the removable body piece comprises a pad of a non-allergenicmaterial carried by the removable body piece and configured to inhibitthe allergenic ornamental piece from contact with the skin of the wearerwhen the wearer's body is in a normal upright position.
 18. The earringof claim 14, wherein the non-allergenic material comprises surgicalstainless steel having a nickel migration rate not greater than 0.2μg/cm²/week as determined by the test method EN 1811:2011 of theEuropean Union.
 19. The earring of claim 14, wherein the fastenercomprises a releasable hook carried by one of the ornamental piece andthe removable body piece and a complementary eye engageable by the hookand carried by the other of the removable body piece and the ornamentalpiece.
 20. The earring of claim 14, wherein the non-allergenic materialof the removable body piece comprises at least one of, a noble metal,titanium, silicone, acrylic, PTFE, or surgical stainless steel.